Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
by Suzumehime
Summary: Having moved across the entire continent back to Japan, life was hectic enough for Akemi without adjusting to a new life and being tricked into becoming Rikkai's Tennis Club's team manager. But she might just find a reason to stay after meeting the tennis regulars and a few friends along the way. Rikkai-centric/eventual OC x mystery tennis regular
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! It's been a really long time since I have published anything...so please be kind! I do apologise for any spelling or grammar errors.

This story is based around high school life with 'coming of age' and 'slice of life' as my main focus on this story, but also humour and romance. To avoid confusion, Rikkai's tennis regulars consist of the same members as in the Prince of Tennis series. The timeline starts with one out of eight of them as a first year student. Catch the hint? ;D

The name of the story, 'Always_ Look on the Bright Side of Life' _(or just 'Bright Side of Life'), comes from the song title of the same name by Eric Idle from Monty Python. I'm also aiming to update this regularly if possible. Will leave an advanced warning, so hopefully it won't come to that!

**Ps. Please leave a review! :) It will help me a lot to know that they are people reading this and want more. **

update: I've added links to drawings of Akemi on my profile page. They will take you to Deviantart

_Disclaimer: __I do not own the Prince of Tennis franchise_

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On a hot summer afternoon, life for the many citizens of a certain city went on as normal as any other cities in the Kanagawa Prefecture. No matter where one would look at, everyone was going about their usual routines –whether it was managing a bar at the local pub, or trimming the annoyingly overgrown hedges that lined the paths in the park.

The story was the same even at a prestigious private school known as Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku –or more commonly called Rikkai. With the desire to strive towards being the best among the best, the students (whether from middle or high school) were well known to be very competitive.

However at this time of day, almost all the classrooms belonging to the high school department were devoid of students.

An odd sight to behold?

Perhaps. But if one was to look at the time table of any students, then it would be understandable.

Classrooms that were occupied with students were being used for club activities, or (for the few unfortunate ones) spending the rest of the day cleaning up after their classmates as part of a duty roster (or detention). It was one of the few chances that teachers could have a few breathers after an exhausting day of teaching and supervising the 'kids', while others remained to guide the club activities that required the presence of a more experienced adult. Outside in the school grounds was the same everywhere –from the vegetable greenhouse to (of course) the tennis courts.

It was at this point in summer that two female students, who had left their club activities for a toilet break, happened to leave the bathroom at that exact moment…

"Have you heard about this new rumour that's been circling around the seniors?" asked Girl A in a dramatic whisper.

"That the broom cupboard on the upper floor really has a witch hiding in there!?" said Girl B in the same dramatic whisper as Girl A.

"No! Wait –what!? Urgh never mind," said Girl A, sending a glare at her snickering friend. "Anyway…I was waiting outside Kobayashi-sensei's office to ask her about a question from the maths homework when I overheard a conversation from inside the room –"

"She was having a one-sided conversation with herself?" Girl B asked, looking slightly baffled.

"No! And would you please let me finish?" Girl A sighed exasperatingly as they turned around a corner to the stairwell and said, "Long story short. Apparently there's a new student transferring to Rikkai tomorrow, and _she's _from the United Kingdom!"

There was a long stretch of silence as they continued downwards to the ground floor. It wasn't long before the silence was broken though.

"Are you done talking now?"

"Oh for goodness' sake!"

So the stairwell was momentarily filled with laughter as the two friends climbed their way down. They didn't go too far until a strange sight caused them to stop just a few steps before the ground floor's landing.

They stared confusingly at the back of a girl–presumably another high schooler like themselves (judging by the dress code for girls in the high school department). She was down on one knee and bent over the ground such that her curtain of black hair obscured part of her face. But with her back facing them, the two unsuspecting friends were not able to tell if she was a senior or a fellow first year like them.

Girl A wondered if she was feeling alright. _'She might be ill and can't walk further!' _

In contrast, Girl B was surprised that their chattering (and not to mention her laughs) was not heard. Unsure if they should proceed seeing as she was blocking their path, they glanced questioningly at each other; the same thoughts going through their head: _'You say something!' _

In the end, Girl A relented after much hesitation and put one tentative foot down a step while raising an uncertain hand to the girl's shoulder. "U-umm…are you alright?"

The moment her hand had made contact, the girl visibly jerked. The shoulder underneath Girl A's hand shifted as she removed something from one of her ears and slowly turned her head around.

No one knew who was more scarred by the encounter…the two poor girls who from then on believed that the witch of the broom cupboard really existed…or the other girl who was plugged into her earphones and discovered that her shoes were hungry enough to eat her socks, had her left eardrum nearly blown off by the power of their vocal chords that could be heard anywhere within the school's vicinity.

Back outside in one of the tennis courts, while all actions had came to a complete halt at the high pitch scream that suddenly pierced the summer air, one particular captain had turned around to look up at the one of the windows where the scream emanated from.

"Yare, yare. Maybe things are about to get interesting around here," he said to no one in particular. The trademark smile appeared on his face as his vice-captain, who had snapped out first, barked an order for everyone to resume practice; not knowing what he said was about to come true soon.

XXX

The very next day, news that two first year students from the high school department saw with their very own eyes the famed 'Witch of the Broom Cupboard' had circulated around the school –even reaching to the ears of the principal who at that very moment, could feel another large migraine growing in his head.

Students were buzzing with excitement about the news; discussing among friends about the viability of the news. Some didn't take it seriously; while others had decided to use the other stairwell on the north side of the building and avoid the upper floor altogether.

One particular student –a second year to be precise –was starting to formulate a brilliant plan to prank his unfortunate targets. He had a few names at hand; one of them –a certain team mate –was on top of his list.

Niou Masaharu grinned toothily as he listened to the conversations around him. Everyone was talking non-stop about the news. A small voice at the back of his head thought that the story behind the rumour was getting a bit odd to the point of far-fetch. It ranged from the witch carrying a one-eyed crow on her shoulder, to anyone who so look her in the eyes would be instantly turned into a jellyfish. _'Although that would be an amusing scene to watch ~puri'_

But his thought bubble soon popped when he heard someone calling his name. Niou turned around in his seat to see that his fellow classmate and best mate, who was only one seat behind him, was staring at him from behind his glasses. After spending so much time around his megane pal, a quick look told him that said friend was giving him the looks of exasperation.

"What?" said Niou; looking very much like an innocent puppy.

His friend let out a long sigh, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he did. "Whatever you're scheming, stop it right now. If you get into another detention, Sanada-san will have your neck on the chopping board after he has done smacking your face with the back of an encyclopaedia –a thick one if I may add." He let his hand fall onto the table and continued, "You can't afford to have another practice time reduced because of that, Masaharu-kun. The Kantou Tournament is just around the corner."

There was a long pause in which they stared back at each other without blinking –although it's hard to tell with the other.

"What gave it away?" Niou briskly asked.

"I hang around you very often since we were in middle school. Plus you always have that disturbing twinkle in your eyes whenever you're planning something," he said without a pause, adjusting his glasses once again. Yagyuu Hiroshi, class president of 2-B has had that habit for as long as Niou had known him –and like his friend had said, since middle school. It was very annoying at first, but the trickster soon realised that it was just part of him and had grown used to it. After all, he had quite a few habits himself.

"Maybe next time I should wear a pair of sunglasses so that it hides the twinkle," he suggested in a nonchalant manner.

Yagyuu was about to retort back when the classroom door was sharply slid opened and in came their homeroom teacher, Miyagi Junichi, with a clipboard tucked neatly under one of his arms. Miyagi-sensei, who had turned sixty a couple of weeks ago, was their chemistry teacher as well as their go-to person for school related problems. He was the most happy-go-lucky teacher any students had ever met. That, and coupled with his stout height and gentle gruff voice, he was very well respected by students and peers alike. Class 2-B (especially Niou) was extremely lucky to have him.

Everyone quickly scattered back to their seats. One of Yagyuu's job as class president was to call out the order to stand and bow at every beginning and ending of each classes; and attendance period (a half an hour period before the learning starts) was no exception. Just a few seconds before that, he had given a last warning look to Niou who waved it away and turned back to face the front.

"Good morning, Miyagi-sensei!" echoed the entire class.

"And a jolly good morning to all of you!" Miyagi-sensei boomed, motioning to the class for everyone to sit down as he stood in front of the blackboard.

Yagyuu blinked confusingly after sitting himself comfortably. _'Miyagi-sensei had left the door opened? Unusual…since protocol calls for classroom doors to be shut during attendance and lesson periods….unless…'_

"Everyone, I know that there's been a rumour about a new student coming to study at this school -". The class burst into murmurs of excitement. It was always thrilling to have something new around, even a fellow classmate! (That's if said student was not a horrid person)

Unperturbed by the chattering before him, Miyagi-sensei continued "-then I am pleased to inform you that this new student…" he paused for dramatic effect "is none other than the Witch of the Broom Cupboard!"

A handful of students spluttered at this. Apart from being well-known for his 'cool' attitude, his jokes were…well had always been cold. Yagyuu adjusted his glasses while maintaining his calm exposures. Niou thought he had heard a cough from outside the door.

Miyagi-sensei burst out in laughter at the funny looks his students were giving him. After calming down a little, he cleared his throat and motioned to the door, "Everyone, I would like you to welcome Miss Noda Akemi!"

All heads immediately turned to the door, where a nervous looking girl stepped into the classroom as Miyagi-sensei went around her to shut the door. Like she was walking in a mine field, the new girl slowly made her way to where Miyagi-sensei was a few seconds ago. She had black hair that was almost wavy at the end and reached past her shoulders and soft brown eyes that were staring down at her clasped hands in front of her. Noting her visible features, Yagyuu guessed that she did some sort of sport that did not require a lot of physical exercises and movements. But probably the one thing that stuck out the most was her pale skin. It was not a sickly pale, if the subtle rosy cheeks were of any indications.

"Where are your manners now, boys and girls?" Miyagi-sensei reprimanded, wagging a finger at the class as Noda Akemi bowed and muttered a quick 'dozo yoroshiku'.

'_Cue' _Yagyuu stood up and bowed. "Welcome to Rikkai, Noda-san."He looked up at the girl who blinked in surprise at him…that was until Miyagi-sensei introduced him as the class president prompting a swift greeting from Noda. Yagyuu remained standing as Miyagi-sensei called out the name of the class' vice president; the other megane, Hinata Chitose.

"Hinata-san will show you around at the end of today's class," he said as Hinata and Noda bowed to each other. He then motioned Yagyuu and Hinata to sit down. "Would you do the honour to write down your name on the blackboard?" he asked, handing her a chalk. When she turned around to face the blackboard, Miyagi-sensei continued to address the whole class, "I know a lot of you have questions to ask her, but seeing as we've yet to take down attendances I will only keep it short –three questions only!" he said, causing a chorus of disappointed groans as hands appeared in the air; one of them belonging (Yagyuu noted with impending doom) to Niou.

Yagyuu could only hope if Noda picked that hand from among the others, Niou would not ask anything too embarrassing.

"Y-you next to the third window from the front," said Noda, pointing at Satoshi Yurika who left off an excited squeal. Yagyuu could only guess where this was going.

"What –and please tell me where –beauty products did you use to get such beautiful pale complexion?!" she said…well squealed more like, causing some of her fellow classmates to flinch at her high pitch voice.

Noda for her part looked startled, but she quickly regained her composure and replied with a nervous chuckle, "Believe me, I don't use any beauty products at all if you exclude moisturisers." Satoshi uttered a rather loud "Really?" But Noda was unperturbed by her latest outburst. "Maybe it would help if I tell you where I've lived for more than a decade before moving back to Japan."

XXX

"Noda Akemi. Age seventeen. Birthday is not until the middle of September…Originally hails from United Kingdom; more precisely, Scotland?" The scratching sound of pencil was almost drowned out by the noises that filled the school's cafeteria.

It was currently lunch break, and the entire tennis regulars were out in full force. There wasn't a need for them to buy lunch as their respective mothers had done themselves a great job with preparing their bentos. Nevertheless, a change of view was always good –even if it meant having to ignore the number of fangirls currently sitting beside their table.

Yanagi Renji, the team's treasurer, had his notebook out in front of him with a pencil held firmly between his fingers. There was an occasional flick of a wrist as he moved the writing tool at an alarming speed. If his fellow team mates had not known him for a long time, they would have given him a very weird look. As it was, Yanagi's specialty was gathering data. _'But why on a new student?' _was the thought that went through everyone's head at the moment.

Yagyuu who could finally have his lunch in peace (well for the time being) after being interrogated for information on his new classmate by Yanagi, was left feeling slightly disturbed, to put in a better word, by the data master's interest in her. He was about to enquire to this mystery but their youngest team member beat him to it.

"Omphphairowuthyieng?" asked Kirihara Akaya through a mouthful of food.

"Akaya, swallow your food before you speak," Jackal Kuwahara reprimanded, smacking the back of the first year's head.

Kirihara glared at his senior, but obediently did as he was told to. "Why are you interested in her, Yanagi-senpai?" He asked, rubbing at the sore spot where Jackal had hit him. The rest of his team mates turned to look at the one in question.

Yanagi didn't look up from where he was still writing (if one could call it that). "What are you on about, Akaya?" he asked in a genuine confused manner.

"You wanted all available information about her the moment we sat down…and now you're scribbling in your book…" Yagyuu replied, adjusting his glasses.

The pencil hovered a few centimetres above the paper as Yanagi paused in thoughts. Niou watched him very carefully, his mind working at a speed that would baffle anyone who so glanced at it. There were several possibilities that the trickster had come up with…but he kept silent.

Finally, Yanagi slowly raised his head to…erm…stare…at Yagyuu who sat directly in front of him. "98.99% chances that you have mistaken my questions as someone who wants to pursue her," he simply stated.

"And the rest?" blurted Niou. He couldn't help it.

"That all of you have realised that I am in fact creating a draft for an essay for history class."

"So you're not actually interested in a girl?" Marui Bunta said dejectedly, shoving a mouthful of chocolate cake that he had smuggled into his bag when his mother was not looking.

"Nope," said Yanagi, resuming his quest to complete the draft. "I merely asked as a fellow curious student."

Marui huffed. He was about to make another retort but Niou beat him to it.

"Well, Yanagi, if you're ever wondering how she looks like…there she is with Hinata," he said pointing a pair of chopsticks at the cafeteria's entrance.

"Where!? Let me see! Let me see!" Marui exclaimed excitedly, jumping to his feet and straining his neck to see over the crowded room.

Noda was staring with her mouth half-opened in wonder as she gazed around the cafeteria. Yagyuu noted that her previous nervous exterior that she wore throughout their morning classes were gone. She looked every bit like a different person when her lips were upturned and the corner of her eyes slightly wrinkled as she chuckled heartily at whatever Hinata had said to her. He adjusted his glasses as both girls turned around and walked away from their view.

"Che, she's not really a looker," Marui mumbled, sitting down.

"That isn't a nice thing to say about a lady, Marui," Yagyuu immediately chided; switching to gentleman mode. Marui merely shrugged off the comment.

As everyone resumed their lunch, their buchou, Yukimura Seiichi, turned to his best friend who was sat beside him, and muttered something that only the two could hear. "You were staring at her for a very long time. Has our vice-captain finally admitted that his hard shell can be broken?" he said light-heartedly, smiling like a fox that had caught its prey.

Sanada Geniichiro could only snort at the remark, and kept quite. His facial expression remained the same stony expression that he seemed unable to live without. However,Yukimura –having known him since they were in elementary school –was good at reading the stoic vice-captain…and his body language gave nothing away.

'_Interesting indeed.' _

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Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello everyone! I'm happy that the story has been faved and attracted a few 'story alerts'. Thank you all, for liking the first chapter!

IMPORTANT: Starting from this chapter, you will see some dialogues in **"****bold"**, that denotes the use of English language in the story.

Ps. Any questions about the chapter or previous, feel free to ask

R&R please

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Prince of Tennis franchise or iPod. They belong to their respective owners/creators/company. _

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After saying goodbye to her mother (the other half had already left for work), Akemi crossed the path on their front garden; stopping briefly next to the gates where Felicia (the family cat) was basking in the sun.

"**You're a happy cat,"** Akemi stated, squatting down to pet her cat on its side.

Felicia clearly showed her irritation at being disturbed from her nap by swatting at Akemi's hand, albeit lazily. To this day, both she and her mother swore that Felicia must have had studied her father's behaviour since arriving at their old home as a rescue kitten. Although the 'other' behaviour remained unanswered, Akemi had more than once scoffed at her father's so-called theory.

'_Professor or not, he is no expert on animal behaviour,' _she snorted, standing up to dust her skirt; but not before giving Felicia a teasing rub on the head. She stepped into the pavement and swung the gates shut.

Out of habit, she glanced up at the sky to find that it was partly covered with thick clouds. Much as a nice change of weather was good for everyone -especially the Noda household who were far used to cooler summers than this -Akemi hoped that it would not rain soon or later today. She needed to run to the grocery stores after school to get some baking ingredients for tonight. After giving the clouds another worried glance, she turned on her heels and started towards the direction of the school.

About ten minutes later, she stopped. In front of her, was a steep and narrow road that ran downhill from where she was at. Built alongside the road, were rows of traditional Japanese houses. Akemi had to admit that the people living in there were one lucky cookie.

The view from the top of the hill was…and she could only find one word to describe it…breathtaking. Not only was she able to see her school and the city centre from here, there was also the long stretch of sandy beach that this part of Kanagawa was very famous for. Sadly for her, Akemi had not physically been to the beach yet, and she blamed the many boxes and crates waiting for her to unpack.

She gave sad sigh before sticking a pair of earphones into her ears with one hand, while the other was already roaming the glass surface of an iPod in search of a good playlist. When she did find one, she let out a happy gasp and tapped play before placing the iPod back into her pocket. Humming to upbeat Jazz music that was filling her ears, she headed down the hill; adding a few skips in her footsteps as she did so. Akemi definitely felt lighter than when she had left the house.

She was later joined by her class' vice president, Hinata Chitose, halfway to school. Aware of social courtesy, Akemi had swiftly packed away her earphones.

They chatted with one another. When the topic of conversation reached to how she was settling in the city, she had replied with a shrug "So far, so good." In truth, she missed her adopted country, and wondered if this place would ever replace it. She didn't mention it though, for fear of possibly offending Hinata, so she kept a happy demeanour throughout the rest of the conversation.

However, Hinata was not one to be fooled. As they passed through the school gates, she studied the girl beside her closely. Everyone had placed her in the 'shy and quiet' category since she was rarely seen with any friends or her classmates. It wasn't her fault though. Hinata had a few friends, and they all made up the small community of the Handicraft Club, but none were from her class. She once had a best friend whom she grew up with. They would do everything and anything together. But that changed when she'd moved to Tokyo after their middle school graduation. Communication between them started to dwindle until Hinata completely lost contact of her. It stopped bothering her once her dearest mother had given a precious advice to her.

'_Move on, Chitose. Like society in every parts of the world, life is very volatile.'_

As the words kept repeating in her head, all the puzzles seemed to piece perfectly together. Out from the corner of her eyes, the observant Hinata noticed how distant Akemi's eyes were. When Akemi caught her looking, she gave her a large smile before overtaking her to get to their classroom first.

Right then, Hinata….Hinata could only feel sympathy for the girl.

XXX

They wouldn't stop pestering her.

After going through a gruelling session of Q&A yesterday, Akemi thought that she was spared from anymore questions. Although there was a small part of her knew that the possibility was close to zero, and if possible, right down to the negatives. The moment she had sat down in her seat, her desk was completely surrounded by a wall of faces. Akemi nearly screamed in fright then.

In the midst of the chaos, Hinata was trying to calm everyone down but without any luck, as it seemed so easy to lose oneself in a sea of students –especially for one so small. Fortunately, help soon came in the form of the class president who was, by all miracles, managed to squeeze through the tiny gaps.

"Come on, guys. Relax," he said, slightly gasping for air, as in the end, he too was not spared from being pushed around by his classmates. "Enough with the questions. You all basically got a summary of her life yesterday, plus you're scaring No – I mean – Akemi-san."

Perhaps it was the fact that he was the highly respected class president, or mysteriously charismatic, but whatever it was, his words worked like magic. Her classmates departed, albeit begrudgingly, back to their little groups.

"Thank you very much for doing that, Yagyuu-san," Akemi sighed in relief as Yagyuu readjusted his glasses. "I'm not trying to be rude, but being bombarded with questions at such early in the morning is a bit too much for me to handle." She smiled gratefully at Hinata who had already returned to her seat, seeing that there was no need for her anymore.

"My pleasure, Akemi-san. It is understandable, given your situation yesterday," he said, settling down on an empty seat beside hers as Akemi chuckled sheepishly at the truth. "If there are any problems at all, just let me or Hinata-san a shout. I see that both of you are getting well acquainted with each other."

"Yes, we are," said Akemi without missing a beat.

"That's good to hear," Yagyuu smiled, showing no sign that he was slightly disturbed at the guarded look in her eyes.

The rest of the morning came and gone, and by the time Akemi glanced at her watch for the umpteenth time it was another hour until their lunch break. She sighed inwardly, and turned her attention back to the history textbook in front of her.

When the bell finally rang and their history teacher had left the classroom, Akemi quickly packed everything into her bag and stood up. It was not lunch break yet, nor was it time for them to go home. They have another lesson before then, but Akemi was exempted from English for the current academic year. Apparently, she had scored enough marks in that particular subject's paper when she did her entrance exam to earn a free break every weekday. Well, she did grow up in an English-speaking country. Her parents and former English teacher would probably be disappointed if she didn't get the exemption. On the day of the stairwell incident (Akemi could still a dull throb in her eardrums everytime she was reminded of it), she was asked to meet with the school principle for a briefing. It was then she was informed of her freedom. But much as she was flattered, Akemi had wanted to at least sit through one or two English periods before accepting the exemption.

That she did, and had come into a final decision yesterday.

Avoiding everyone's eyes, Akemi shuffled towards Yagyuu. The class president, who had already been told of her exemption by Miyagi-sensei, dropped a laminated tag into her opened hand as soon as she walked past his desk and left the classroom in a flash. The class (except Yagyuu and Hinata) was silent as they watched the door closed with a thud, wondering what had happened to their new classmate. But when the door opened again, everyone immediately snapped back into attention as their English teacher walked in with a rather battered-looking book.

'_Girl sure doesn't like attentions,'_ thought Niou, stifling a yawn as Suzuki-sensei announced the topic of the day. As minutes ticked by, a small plan was beginning to form in his mind.

Yagyuu looked away from the blackboard, where the teacher was writing an excerpt from H.G. Well's _War of the Worlds,_ to the quivering back of Niou. _'Looks like I have to watch him closely for the rest of day,' _he sighed, already feeling the dread creeping up his spine.

"Niou-san! If you have something funny to say, why don't you share it with us!?"

Another sigh escaped from Yagyuu, as the whole class chuckled at the latest rebuke.

The corridor was deserted, which suited her well. She glanced around her thinking of a place to spend her free period. The library was out of the question since Akemi wanted somewhere with a bit of noise to read. The cafeteria would have had been a great choice, if it weren't for the fact that she had arrived outside the entrance to find that it won't open until ten minutes before lunch break.

Seeing no other ideas popping up, Akemi turned away from the closed doors and headed towards the direction of the library. But just as her hand was about to touch the library's doorknob, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

She silently berated herself, turning back towards the corridor to climb an all too familiar stairs. Minutes later, Akemi staggered to a stop in front of a pair of double doors, feeling slightly out of wear. After a few gasps of air, she gave one of the doors a push; nearly blinding herself as the light suddenly filled the landing. She narrowed her eyes against the light and stepped through the doors.

"This is definitely not an ordinary private school," she muttered, leaning against the doors. When Hinata had shown this place to her yesterday, Akemi had found it very hard to believe that they were standing on the rooftop of their very own block. Apparently, it was converted into a rooftop garden by the Gardening Club only a few years ago, starting as a middle school students' project.

She pushed away from the doors and walked down the cobbled stone path, admiring the neatly arranged flowers and decorations around her. There were a few hedges shaped into different types of birds, and even a gazebo at the very centre of the rooftop garden. Akemi gave it a long thoughtful look, before turning right and left the path. She wondered around for a bit, stopping every now and then to read the neatly scrawled small wooden signposts, until she stumbled upon a garden shed that looked like it had seen better days.

"Odd," she said, noticing a gap between the shed and a bush. There was just enough space for one person. Always the curious type, Akemi carefully squeezed through the gap. **"Darn it!"** she exclaimed, tugging at one end of her skirt that got caught in a branch until it gave. She glared at the culprit, smoothing her skirt. But all anger instantly vanished the moment she turned around.

Akemi gave an involuntary gasp, and slowly made her way past a wooden bench to stand in front of the railing.

'_I can see the sea from here,' _she noted, feeling awestruck as a gentle breeze tickled her skin. She gave the air a little sniff, _'Mmm…and smell it too.'_

Thinking that she had enjoyed the view enough, she turned back towards the bench and sat down. She studied her surroundings. It was nothing compared to the rest of the rooftop garden behind her. But oddly enough, she felt that this place was special. _'Like a sanctuary.'_

Smiling in content, she reached into her bag, and took out her Japanese History textbook and iPod. She set the latter beside her and flipped through the history book with a frown.

'_I sure have a lot to catch up on,' _she sighed in despair, finally settling on the first chapter.

Akemi was glad that the school had excluded Japanese History from the entrance exam, or else she probably wouldn't have been accepted. She enjoyed history in general, but the subject was never her strong point; so there was a lot of memorising and drawing mind-maps involved throughout her education.

'_Come on, Akemi. You can do this!' _she nodded in determination, uncapping a highlighter, and set about to read.

Since the weather was cooler today, the Three Monsters had decided to have their lunch at the rooftop garden. It was Yukimura's idea. Since it had been nothing but scorching hot for the past few days or so, he wanted to check on the herbs that he had planted a few days ago, to make sure that none were suffocating in the heat. Finding no reasons to say no, the other two had agreed to go with him.

But when they had arrived at their usual spot, it was already occupied by a fellow student who was oblivious to the three guys staring over the bench at her, wearing the same puzzled looks –except for the stoic one. Noda Akemi was lying on her back fast asleep with a book dangling precariously in one hand over the ground next to her.

They glanced at one another, wondering what they should do. It was not as if there weren't any other benches around, and there was the gazebo. But they had wanted somewhere secluded...a place where no fangirls could spot them from far. No one apart from them, the students of the Gardening Club, and the groundskeeper knew of this place as it was very well hidden by the garden shed and bushes.

"We could just sit on the grass," Yanagi finally suggested, raising an eyebrow.

The other two merely shrugged in agreement, finding no other options, and the three back tracked a couple of meters before settling down on a nice patch of grass.

By the time they had finished their lunch and Yukimura had returned from checking on his herbs, it was nearly the end of lunch break, and they found themselves in the same spot behind the bench, staring down at Akemi who was still sleeping contently.

"We should definitely wake her up," said Yukimura. Not bothering to wait for the others to respond, he walked around the bench, picked up the book that had fallen off on the ground, and bent slightly over her. "Excuse me, miss," he said, placing a hand on one of her shoulders. "Break time is almost over. You should go back to your class."

Akemi stirred slightly in her sleep. There was music playing in her head, and her upper body was moving on its own; almost like someone was shaking her. Somewhere in her head, a voice shouted for it to stop. The shaking stopped but it didn't last long.

In the end, she groaned in defeat, which for some weird reasons, seemed to have stopped the shaking. Akemi groggily opened her eyes and was met with an oddly shaped shadow. She blinked several times, the shadow slowly sharpening in her vision. When her brain finally registered that it was a face looking down at her, she shrieked and shot straight up on the bench, violently tugging the earphones out from her ears. The sudden movement had caught the person beside her in surprise, but he reacted fast enough to avoid a hit on the head. Oddly enough to Akemi, it sounded like that they were not alone.

Looking like a deer caught in headlights, Akemi glanced frantically around her. There were two others behind her. Both had very weird haircuts; the tallest of them seemed to be fine with his eyes perpetually closed, and the other looked terrifyingly scary even when he was briefly caught off guard. The one who had presumably woke her up, had a rather feminine face with curly blue hair. If it weren't for the fact that he had a prominent lump on his throat and was wearing the male school uniform, she would have had easily passed him as a girl.

(Back to her predicament)

"Are you alright?" Blue-haired boy asked in concern when Akemi did not react for a long time.

Yukimura took one step forward holding out the history textbook to her. He had meant to return it to her, but his movement seemed to have spooked her; judging by the way she had leapt from the bench and fled. The last thing the trio saw of her was the black school bag of hers before it disappeared behind the bushes with her. The leaves rustled for a bit followed by a rather loud **"Curse this overgrown plant!" **and an unmistaken snapping sound of a branch broken in half.

After the footsteps had completely faded away, Yukimura glanced at the book in his hand and then back to the spot where Akemi had disappeared. "Wonder what that was all about…"

"70 -"

"Cut it off, Renji," said Sanada, massaging his temple. He then turned to Yukimura and reluctantly asked for the book, telling him that he would return it to her.

"That's quite unlike you, Geniichiro," Yukimura smiled with a knowing glint in his eyes. He handed the book to Sanada who looked less than pleased at his best friend and maybe himself. "You're always avoiding coming into contact with girls because you're afraid that they might turn out into one of your fangirls. Yet, this is the first time I see that you're going to talk to one out of your own freewill."

One of his eyebrows' twitched in irritation. Sanada always prided with himself for being the dignified vice captain of the Tennis Club, but it took a large amount of determination from him to explain to his best friends, why he had suggested it in the first place. When he had given his full explanation, the other two merely made a noise to show that they had understood. However, that didn't stop Yukimura from teasing him about it as the trio left the rooftop garden.

All conversation halted to a stop when the door was violently thrown opened, and Akemi nearly stumbled into the classroom. She was panting really hard, looking like she had just ran the entire length of Honshu _(the main island of Japan),_ and had to use the door frame for support.

Hinata was immediately by her side and was shortly joined by the class president. Like everyone else, Niou just watched from where he was, albeit with a bored look. But inwardly, he was brimming with curiosity.

"Are you alright, Akemi-san!?" Hinata nearly squeaked, touching her shoulders.

Yagyuu made to help Akemi, but he was waved off. He had to refrain from going against his gentleman's code to disobey a lady's request, but felt himself about to protest anyway when Akemi managed dragged herself back onto her own two feet.

Out of the blue, she giggled, catching both Yagyuu and Hinata by surprise.

"**Why am I being asked the same question left and right since I came here?"** she giggled, leaning against the door frame with a dazed smile. **"I told you several times, Mr Octopus and Miss Starling, I'm as well as Mr Bunny with a rabbit hole full of carrots!"** she exclaimed happily, throwing her arms above her; an action which made her slip a few inches down the door frame.

The two exchanged worried glances at each other, shocked at: 1) the change in language and, 2) the strange behaviour that she was exhibiting. Like the two meganes, everyone else was just as shell-shocked as they watched scene unfolding before their eyes. Finally, it was Yagyuu who found his voice first.

"I think you need to come with us to see the nurse," he said, hoping with all his heart that the current Akemi –whatever had happened to her –was still able to comprehend Japanese. He tried gently lifting her up by the arms, but she would not budge.

"**The nurse!? Why!?" **

"Because you're not feeling well, Akemi-san," said Hinata, who had finally snapped out of it and was helping Yagyuu at the other side.

"**But I'm feeling pretty swe-!" **She protested, but was cut off by a rather loud and menacing growl.

By then, Hinata and Yagyuu had stopped in their attempt to pull her up; and instead were staring down at where her stomach was.

"**My, what is that sound?" **

XXX

When the bell rang signalling the end of school, Akemi was still red-faced when she hurriedly left the classroom. Other students were starting to spill onto the corridor, leaving her with no choice but to make a dash towards the stairs, and she was out on the school grounds in half the time it would normally take for her.

From one of the windows above her, Niou and Yagyuu were quietly observing their new classmate as she sprinted past the gates. Even from here, they could spot the flushed ears. The classroom was empty except for those who were on cleaning duties. When Akemi had finally disappeared from their views, Niou heaved himself the window, plop himself down on a random chair with his feet resting on the desk, and pulled out his phone. The school had a no mobile phone policy, but that's only in place until the end of school.

"We should go down to the changing rooms. I just got a text from Yanagi-san saying that Yukimura-buchou has a very important announcement to make before training," said Yagyuu, glancing from his phone to Niou who was casually tapping away on his own phone. Behind his glasses, Yagyuu's eyes narrowed. He quickly manouvered around the desks and chairs, and snatched the device out from his best friend's hand.

"Hey, I was using that!" Niou protested.

Yagyuu took one look at the phone and sighed. "Delete this please," he said, holding out the phone to Niou. It was bad that he took a picture of Akemi at a state (for future blackmail material; he assumed), but to upload it onto a social network site where everyone could view (and worse 'share') was the very last straw. Yagyuu was glad that he had caught his friend before the picture was up on cyberspace.

"No!"

Throwing aside his usual manners, Yagyuu said in a firm voice, "If the school finds out about this, you'll be in big trouble." He paused in thoughts. "Though I suppose detention is far less severe when compared to what Sanada-fukubuchou will have installed for you if he knows…" he trailed off, waving the phone in front of Niou's face.

"Oh fine!" Niou snapped, snatching his phone back from Yagyuu.

His best friend made sure that Niou had deleted the photo –and to his horror, a few more –from his phone, before urging his friend to leave the classroom before _both_ of them get in trouble with their bad-tempered vice captain of the tennis team.

Akemi was glad that it was the weekend tomorrow. She wouldn't be able to face her class so soon after what had happened. She couldn't believe it when she had woken up in the school nurse's office, and was strictly instructed by the matronly nurse to never skip any meals, or starve herself if she did not wish to have another episode of hallucination.

Yup, Akemi had not only embarrassed herself in front of her classmates, but also Miyagi-sensei who happened to be the teacher to start the next lesson. Not only that, she had called Hinata and Yagyuu names that she would never dream of. Having left school in a hurry, she had already apologised to Hinata on the phone, and was relief when her friend forgave her, which meant that Akemi had another person to apologise to, but it would have to wait until Monday.

She had to resist the strong urge to hit her head on a nearby wall as she trailed behind her parents. So instead, she focused on the task of carrying the plate of freshly baked apple pie. After all, dropping it on the ground would mean that she had wasted all the time and energy in making the scrumptious pie for the dinner party; not to mention she wouldn't want to earn a scorn from her mother for breaking a new plate.

"Hurry up there, Akemi. The night isn't getting any younger, you know. Chop! Chop!" Her father shouted from the front.

"If you keep going on like that, I won't get any younger too," Akemi retorted flatly, puffing her cheeks out.

"Oh, stop it. The both of you," her mother said, casually. "We're nearly there, and it won't do well for first impressions if they see a grown up and a high school girl bickering like they should be a couple."

"Urgh! That's just so gross coming from you, mama!" Akemi exclaimed, making a face.

Her dear mother laughed. Liked as she did of her parents' humour, but sometimes it could get a bit out of hand. _'No wonder they got married,' _Akemi drily thought, as she sped up a bit.

They finally arrived outside their destination. While her mother buzzed the intercom, Akemi was busily mulling over the sign which read 'Sanada' beside them.

"What's wrong? Can't read Kanji?" her father snickered, leaning close to her head.

"Rawr!"

"Ahem!" Akemi immediately froze in her attempt to push her father with the plate. Her mother gave both father and child a stern look before gesturing with her head to follow her through the opened gates.

She playfully stuck her tongue out at her father before following her mother through the front garden.

Akemi had never known that they were quite big until she was physically standing right at the doorsteps belonging to one of the traditional Japanese houses along _the _slope. She waited behind her parents, adjusting her hold on the plate as her mother rang the doorbell. Her father was looking around him with an aloof expression.

The shoji door slid opened and they were greeted with a bow by a man with a familiar haircut. Akemi had a very bad feeling then, and it was confirmed when their host lifted his head, revealing a very _very _familiar face. He showed no sign of recognition, however, as her parents greeted him back. When they realised that it was missing another voice, three sets of eyes landed on her.

'_This is going to be a very long night…' _she sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose as a throbbing pain was starting to grow in her skull.

* * *

Thanks for reading! It will help to boost my morale for the next chapter if you review~

Until then, see you next chapter! ^^


	3. Chapter 3

**Dear Readers, **

**Hope everyone had a good Christmas and are looking forward to some new year celebration! :) **

**I apologise for not updating for months as I had been too occupied with uni work. Hopefully, you are still interested in the story. **

**Many thanks to those who have 'fav' and added the story to your alert list. I feel really happy that there are people who like it. **

**If you're ever interested in knowing how some of the important OCs look like, just head to my profile and click on the link provided. There are also some basic info on them in my profile. **

**Happy Reading! ^^ **

**R&R please~**

* * *

They say that 'time flies when you're having fun'. While these words rang true for some, Monday arrived in a blink of the eyes, and every Rikkai High students were up and getting ready for school.

For the tennis regulars though, they had been up since the crack of dawn and were the first few individuals who arrived at the school before the teachers did.

The reason?

Summer was a popular season for holding sporting events and competitions. This meant that the Kantou Tournament for tennis was just around the corner, and according to the calendar pinned to the notice board outside one of the tennis courts, it was less than a month away. Of course they were very confident in breezing through the matches (especially with the absence of a certain Seigaku prodigy was in America), but the past kept them from making the same mistake they did two years ago.

No one, Yukimura in particular, wanted to loss –especially not to Seigaku. They may have beaten their rivals to the champion's title in last year's Kantou and National tournament, but no one was foolish enough to underestimate Seigaku.

So they trained vigorously every day under the watchful eyes of the team vice captain, Sanada Geniichiro.

Hidden beneath the shade of his cap, Sanada's eyebrows were furrowed in a deep frown and his lips were pressed tightly in a flat line. He stood outside one of the tennis courts, arms crossed over his well-built chest as he silently observed the ongoing doubles match. When it was over, Marui was all over the court whooping with joy as his doubles partner, Jackal, watched on with an exasperated look. Meanwhile, at the other end of the court, the losing duo was deliberately taking their time in walking over to the exit.

"Don't be too harsh on them alright," smiled Yukimura, who had earlier joined him in watching the match. "Miyagi-sensei explicitly informed me that Niou and Yagyuu have a chemistry test tomorrow, and he didn't want them to miss it due to physical injuries."

One of Sanada's eyebrows twitched violently at those words. Losing was never an option to any of them, and those who failed to meet his expectation will get a scathing rebuke, but not before receiving a nice smack on the face courtesy of their fukubuchou. Their youngest member, Kirihara, was the most recent living testimony of his punishment, and those two were about to be his latest victims.

But if a teacher had asked, Sanada would relent, but that didn't mean that they would be spared from his lecture.

"So, how did the date with Noda-san go?" asked Yukimura, out of the blue.

"It was _not _a date, Seiichi," said Sanada, fighting the urge to grit his teeth in irritation. "You know that very well by now."

"Of course, but that doesn't stop me from spreading false rumours."

"You wouldn't do that."

"Try me."

Sanada gave up at that point, feeling his head about to explode at any moment, and he had just the right people to vent on.

Yukimura's smile never left his face, even when Niou and Yagyuu had stopped in front of them, waiting for the doom that was about to befall them.

"TARUNDORU!" he barked, spits flying from his mouth. The pair visibly flinched under his menacing aura surrounding them. "What's wrong with you today!?"

"Nothing," Niou muttered indifferently, arms crossed behind his head. He ignored the fact that the anger was mostly directed at him. Since the weekend, he had been feeling restless during the practice match and his mind kept drifting off. Although he'd kept it in check, his odd behaviour did not escape Sanada's notice.

"The score was horrendous! You know the full basics of playing a tennis match, Niou, and concentrating in the game is one of them!"

Niou made a non commitment sound, and turned his head in another direction.

Yagyuu, for his part, was desperately praying for Niou to stop acting like a child, or the punishment would get even more severe than it already was, judging by the look on the fukubuchou's face. He tried to catch Yukimura's attention in every discrete manner possible, including tugging at his collar and pushing up his glasses. It worked, but the only response he got from the buchou was a rather sadistic smile. Yagyuu was doomed.

When their captain had announced the end of the training session, Niou and Yagyuu –each sporting a perfect imprint of a hand on their face –departed the changing rooms together.

Neither spoke as they made their way towards the vending machine outside the library.

When it was his turn, Yagyuu inserted a coin and picked a drink.

"Sorry."

One of the clouds above the school moved away from the sun, filling the opened corridor with morning sunlight. Yagyuu's glasses glinted in the light as he stood back up with his drink in one hand.

It didn't take an answer to know why Niou was apologising for.

"It doesn't bother me, Niou-kun," Yagyuu said dismissively, unscrewing the cap as they continued down the corridor.

"Really?" he said, instantly switching back to his laid-back personality. "'Cos everyone's going to stare at the highly respected class president for the entire day. What with the very red mark." His voice was filled with mirth. Leave it to the laid-back trickster to turn every situation from bad to worse. But Yagyuu was his best friend, and was not about to lose this argument.

"You're forgetting that I'm not the only one who has a red hand print on his cheek."

"I would like to think of that as a beacon for attracting attention."

"You know how Atobe-ish that sounds?"

"Pfft. That diva has nothing on me."

Yagyuu raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his friend, and was about to make another retort when they bumped into Miyagi-sensei at the main hallway. The two students quickly swept aside their petty argument and greeted their homeroom teacher.

"Yare yare. Look at the two of you. How am I going to be a teacher when even your fukubuchou doesn't heed to my instructions."

Niou and Yagyuu blinked in confusion. "What instruction?"

"Hmm?" said Miyagi-sensei, looking slightly startled at the question. He hadn't meant to say it out loud. The chemistry test that he told Yukimura was a surprise; well worth to see the shock on everyone's face. "Ah, there's nothing to worry about!" he laughed boisterously in an attempt to hide the nervousness in his voice.

Niou and Yagyuu snuck a glance at each other; feeling even more confused but did not dwell any deeper as Miyagi-sensei cleared his throat.

"Yagyuu-kun, can you come to the office with me? I need your help, and this old man doesn't have the strength and energy he used to have."

Yagyuu, always the polite student, nodded and followed their homeroom teacher down the corridor.

"See yas!" Niou shouted after his friend who waved back without turning. "Hmm… now what should I do?" he muttered to himself, climbing the stairs to the second floor. They have another twenty minutes until their attendance period. He could just head to the rooftop for a nice rest before class starts, and was about to do just that when he spotted someone slightly ahead of him.

Niou froze in his steps; all previous thoughts of going to the rooftop flew out the window. There was the source of his dilemma, trudging along the corridor and looking slightly disheveled. He glanced frantically around him, but there was no one around the corridor other than them.

'_Chance!' _he smirked, retreating into the shadows in a similar fashion as a sinister villain from an action film.

XXX

Akemi had wanted nothing more than to slip back underneath her soft duvet, but that was not possible seeing as she was already in school. She had trouble getting back to sleep after getting startled by a loud crash from outside her window, only to find that it was only a stray cat on its night patrol around their neighbourhood. It was close to four in the morning then, and by the time she had given up and left the house for school, her clock had another half an hour before it would go off.

When she had arrived at school, it was eerily quiet, saved for the morning traffic –and even then, it was no more than a dull buzzing sound to her ears. She was not surprise; after all, no students would want to be at school this ridiculously early in the morning.

Her legs were tired from being dragged across the suburbs, and she had to climb that blasted stairs to get to her classroom. The corridor on the second floor was devoid of any souls when she had reached there, but for a brief moment, Akemi had a weird feeling that she was being watched. Reasoning that her half-awakened brain was messing with her, she shook it off and entered the classroom.

"Urgh, somebody…punch me," she groaned, dropping her bag on the floor and plopping into her seat. Luckily, the classroom was currently empty except for her, or her previous request might raise several eyebrows.

She scooted a bit closer to the desk so that she could rest her aching head on the slightly worn out surface. As she listened to the dull ticking of the wall clock, her mind wandered back to the dinner party at the Sanadas. At first, she had acted like the shy and awkward high school student, and it didn't help that the least person she wanted to be around in the same room was sitting next to her; but after a while she felt more comfortable around her neighbours and especially when she had (discreetly) apologised to Sanada for her outburst earlier that day. She had learnt that Sanada Geniichiro was not the talkative type, which contrasted greatly with the rest of his family. If it weren't for the fact that he strongly resembled Mr Sanada (his father), she would have easily passed him as a non-relative. Despite that, she found that the stoic vice-captain of her school's tennis team and his family likeable.

Sighing, she repositioned her head so that it was resting comforably on her arms instead. Her eyelids were starting to droop, and she made no effort to keep them peeled open. Eventually, she succumbed to the comforting darkness of sleep.

Akemi did not know how long she had been asleep for, but by the time she was woken up by a gentle prod on the shoulder, there were already a couple of students in the classroom on cleaning duty.

She slowly raised her head and her eyes were met with Yagyuu, who stood in front of her with his hand slightly raised in an attempt to nudge her awake again.

"Yagyuu-san," she greeted with a weak smile, stifling a yawn. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Akemi-san," came the reply.

"Do you need something from me?" she asked politely, tilting her head a little.

"Ah yes. You left the classroom in a hurry last Friday before we could stop you -," Akemi laughed sheepishly. " –there is a field trip to the sea world in two weeks and all second year students are invited."

"Really?" she exclaimed in delight, straightening up in her chair and suddenly feeling rejuvenated at those words. So excited was she that Akemi failed to notice that one of the students, who had been sweeping nearby, was gaping shamelessly at the class president.

Yagyuu nodded an affirmative, prompting a happy gasp from her. He placed a piece of neatly folded paper on her desk, reached into his pocket for a pen and said, "You will need to sign here to say that you are going."

"Of course!" she said, accepting the offered pen with haste.

While she was busy scrawling her name on the paper, Yagyuu raised his head barely an inch at his target, catching the sunlight on his glasses. As if understanding what that glint meant, the poor student swallowed with difficulty before scurrying away to a corner to sweep.

"There you go!" said Akemi, returning the pen to Yagyuu. She would have done so with the paper, if it weren't for the fact that it was pressed down firmly under Yagyuu's hand.

"Well, that's all then," he said, pocketing the pen and paper. "I'll just hand this in to Miyagi-sensei. He'll be please to know that everyone in his class is going. Thank you and see you later, Akemi-san."

"See you." She watched him turn and walk towards the door when she realised that there was something important that she had yet to do. "Wait!" Without waiting for a response, she shot out from her seat.

Yagyuu paused and turned around just as she skidded to a halt in front of him.

Akemi bowed deeply, startling Yagyuu. "I just want to apologise for calling you Mr Octopus last week!"

There was a brief silent until it was broken by Yagyuu clearing his throat. "Apologies accepted, Akemi-san. It's not your fault after all. Your mind and stomach simply took control."

Akemi stood back up, laughing sheepishly and feeling relief that she was forgiven.

"But I must go now. See you," he said shortly, leaving a slightly flabbergasted Akemi in his wake.

She watched with a frown as he disappeared down the stairs, pondering at his rather abrupt departure. _'He could have waited until attendance period to give it to Miyagi-sensei…strange…unless it was really that urgent.' _Her muse trailed off, leaving her even more confused, but shrugged it off in the end as she couldn't be bothered with this matter at all.

XXX

'_I haven't had such a brilliant plan in ages!' _a certain silver-haired boy snickered, slipping a piece paper through a slit on one of the many shoe lockers lining the main entrance; but not before sneaking a quick glance around him to make sure that the coast was clear. _'Noda Akemi…here's for the misery you've inflicted on me.' _

He snickered again, sauntering off to his classroom whilst whistling an upbeat tune.

XXX

Akemi bit back a sigh as she bade goodbye to Hinata at the school's gate, but gave in as soon as she'd lost sight of her friend's figure in the sea of students. She glanced forlornly down the road that would take her home after an exhausting day at school. She had been looking forward to an afternoon nap…but…

She quickly turned around, before her mind had second thoughts.

'_This had better be important,'_ she thought, huffing slightly in annoyance. She started to head back towards the school but veered away from the hallway's entrance, and walked down the footpath that would take her to where most of Rikkai's outdoor sports facilities were.

'_The school sure invests a lot on their sports curriculum,'_ Akemi noted, glancing curiously around her. _'Sure hope I remember where the tennis courts are…'_

Akemi had to admit, rather embarrassingly, she was quite renowned for having 'a rusty mental navigation system' in her head –as her father would put it. She had a knack of getting lost numerous times at places she didn't frequent. However thanks to modern technology, Akemi had nothing to worry about except when there's no signal –or worse –if her phone's battery dies out. The former happened to her numerous times when she had been out walking in the Scottish Highlands. She had learnt since to carry a map and a GPS with her. Unfortunately for her, none of those aforementioned equipment were able to help her in this current predicament.

"Wish there is a map of the school grounds. It's like a maze here!" Akemi stomped her feet hard on the ground, feeling irritated that she had ultimately gotten herself lost. She spent a few moments racking her brain to remember if Hinata had taken her around this path before, but to no avail. "There should be signposts here and there to put people like us out of our misery!" she said with a tsk, glaring at a loose pebble at her feet.

It may sound crazy, but she had imagined that the pebble was taunting her…making nuisance noises and sticking out its imaginary tongue. She had it up here then and gave it a mighty (well as mighty as Akemi could get) kick. The poor target of her frustration flew a good few feet away from her.

Not realising what the pebble had hit, she sighed in defeat, having decided to ask the person who had requested her presence to 'rescue' her. Akemi turned around, but soon froze when she heard a groan behind her.

"OI!"

She jumped at the voice and wheeled around. A burly guy, still wearing his uniform –albeit in an after-school fashion –was pointing an accusing finger at her whilst rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.

"Why did you do that for, hur!?"

"Wh-what?" Akemi stuttered, startled at his fierce tone.

He didn't reply at first, as he bent down to picked up something from the ground and held it in front him. "You hit me with this!"

Akemi could only stare wide-eyed at the piece of lifeless pebble between his fingers as the guy continued ranting, "There's no one else around here, except for us. Unless this pebble had a mind of its own, you were the one who chucked it at me."

Her cheeks were immediately turned deep red in a mixture of embarrassment and anger at the accusation, as her eyes flickered around the empty path. She inwardly cursed before putting out her hands in front of her. "Look, I'm really sorry. That was not done on purpose –honest!" she half-yelped at the end, when the guy growled menacingly. "It's only an itty bitty piece of rock!" Akemi soon regretted her words as he took a few steps forward with clenched fists.

"Are you a man or a mouse to threaten a lady with an intention to harm her?" said a calm voice from behind Akemi, effectively stopping the guy on his feet.

She felt herself being gently pushed backwards as her class president stepped in front of her protectively. As the man in front of her was getting verbally abused by her to-be-attacker, Akemi was flabbergasted by Yagyuu's words. She had never heard a single soul from the current century spoke in this manner. _'Is he a character that had somehow escaped from the screens? Perhaps he's practising for a period drama?'_

A cough blew her bubble of thoughts, making Akemi blinked, slightly confused for a few moments. She looked up at Yagyuu (he was a good several inches taller than her), later realising that the rude guy was gone.

"Are you alright, Akemi-san?" he asked.

"Oh…ummm yes," came the response. "What happened? Sorry, my mind was elsewhere," she said, laughing awkwardly.

"That's ok. I merely pulled rank," When Akemi raised an eyebrow, he continued, "He's in the same year as us, but in a different class. Even if I'm not his class president, I still hold the right to report him to the discipline office."

"Hmmmm. So you threatened him?" Akemi asked, inquisitively.

"Nope. I merely warned him," he said, pushing his glasses up.

"I don't see a difference between the two, but I'm not going to argue at this moment. Thanks for helping me out," she said with a bow. "Usually I would avoid confrontations, but I was already ill-tempered before he started accusing me for assaulting him."

"You're welcome," said Yagyuu, his voice not hiding his curiosity. It would break his gentleman code if he did not pursue the matter…plus he _was _her class president. "May I ask, Akemi-san…why were you in a bad mood? If you do not wish to tell me, then I understand that you must keep your privacy." He added reluctantly seeing Akemi lowering her eyes to the ground and biting the side of her lips. He could clearly see that she was fighting inside her mind.

There was long stretch of silence as she pondered his question, but decided on telling half the truth.

"I got lost," she muttered with an almost-faint blush. Akemi dared to face him again, just to see his reaction. She could not see his eyes as they were hidden beneath the glare of light hitting his glasses. The rest of his features were neutral. Whether or not he was dying from laughter inside or his mind had put her on the list of 'loony', she did not want to know.

"That's unfortunate." The words seemed to have placed a huge weight on her chest, but it was soon lifted up when he continued, "You're new here, so it is not unexpected that you might get lost in the school grounds. For that, I must apologise."

"What for?" Akemi asked, curiously.

"I should have drawn a map for you."

Akemi smiled gratefully. "Thank you, but you don't have to apologise. Don't blame yourself for this small matter."

"B-but you almost got-"

"That was probably just my bad luck," she said, putting her hands out like it would settle the matter. When Yagyuu still looked doubtful, she added, "There is a place that I actually need to go. I'm meeting a friend there and, as I've heard from an anonymous source, that he is not a very patient person at times. So if I don't get there as soon as possible…"

Alerted by the urgency in her voice, Yagyuu shoved all worries and suggested that he would accompany her to her destination –to which Akemi was extremely grateful for.

"So where would this place be?" he asked, guiding her out from the path between the two basketball courts.

Akemi sighed in exhaustion, hoping that she could get this over with quickly and head back home for a very deserving nap.

"The tennis court."

XXX

Akemi tried not to get the previous confrontation to get into her head. It was not the whole experience that had left her completely shaken. On the contrary, she was rather put out that the rude guy accused her without good evidence. A part of her mind was roaring with revenge, but the other was reminding her how childish it all sounded and that it was only a small matter.

'_So drop it already, Akemi' _she kept repeating the words in her head as she followed Yagyuu quietly to the tennis courts. _'The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can go home and roll myself up into a sushi roll and sleep –even though it's a in the middle of a hot summer.'_

The moment she saw the silhouette of the guy she wanted to see, Akemi quickly muttered a thank you to Yagyuu and marched into the tennis courts. When she was about a couple of feet away, one of his team mates spotted her and tapped on his shoulder and pointed in her direction.

Trying not to feel underwhelmed by the number of ridiculously tall people around him, Akemi stopped right in front of the vice-captain and asked in a straightforward manner, "What is it that you want to see me for, Geniichiro-kun?"

Behind Sanada, two vaguely familiar guys (_'Is one of them a girl? But that's not possible' _thought Akemi) raised an eyebrow while the other's smile widened, as though finding something rather interesting in her question. The others –including a bubbly red head, a messy black head, and a bald (Akemi was not sure if it was natural or he had shaved his hair off cleanly –she just assumed it was the latter) guy –were not very subtle in keeping their mirth in.

Ignoring them all, like what Sanada was doing albeit with less amount of control than her, Akemi crossed her arms and arched an amused eyebrow at his speechlessness. She could tell that he was trying very hard to refrain from transforming into a human megaphone right in front of them…although that would be interesting to watch.

But alas, it was the slightly feminine-looking friend of his who spoke.

"Actually, it was I who wanted to speak to you, Noda-san."

Akemi was able to keep her eyes from popping out in disbelief. She had expected a feminine voice to match those near-feminine looks, but it was just the same as the boys around his age who she had met.

Sanada stepped away to allow him to stand in front of her.

"Why?" she asked, glancing at Sanada inquisitively but all she got was a blank face. She had wanted to kick it like she had with the pebble.

"Allow me to introduce myself first," he said, just as Yagyuu appeared behind Akemi. He nodded in acknowledgement at her class president. Akemi glanced over her shoulder at Yagyuu in curiosity, before shifting her glance back to the person before her. "I am Yukimura Seiichi. Captain of Rikkai High's tennis team."

He held out his hand which Akemi reluctantly shook.

"Welcome aboard, manageress Noda Akemi."

2nd year student of the most prestigious school in Kanagawa Prefecture; daughter of two respectable parents; owner of two house pets; friend to those who accepted her as one; a fellow human being of the world population; a small part that made up Earth's constituents; a tiny speck of dust in the vast universe – Noda Akemi knew that the strength behind words could be powerful enough to rip the world apart. Right now, she felt that hers was being tipped over like a giant hourglass and that something horrible was just about to happen.

But what she didn't know was that it would end up as something that she never would have had expected from the moment she had set foot in Japan.


End file.
